Michael Crawford

An enormously gifted singer-actor, Michael Crawford became a child star of radio, stage and screen thanks to his soprano voice and innate acting talent. Maturing into a gifted adult performer, he char...
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Hollywood legend Katharine Hepburn is set to get the big screen treatment yet again in an upcoming biopic. Independent film producers are developing a new film about the iconic actress based on author William J. Mann's book, Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn.
British director Clare Beavan has been tapped to helm the film, while the screenwriting team of Michael Zam and Jaffe Cohen, who wrote Best Actress about Joan Crawford and Bette Davis' rivalry, are set to adapt the book for film.
Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn will focus on her early years in movies and how she went from an outsider to becoming one of the most beloved stars of Hollywood's Golden Age.
Earlier this year (14), bosses at Reunion Pictures announced they are also in the process of developing a film centred around Hepburn and her 25-year love affair with Spencer Tracy.

Warner Bros. Pictures via Everett Collection
It's going to be a scary day on sets across the country today. Here's a look at three spooky projects filming this afternoon.
Annabelle
The Conjuring sequel focuses on the horrifying Anabelle doll that haunted two young women in the first film. You can catch Annabelle filming tonight at 711 S Plymouth Blvd in Los Angeles from 5 PM to 6 AM... or in theaters on Oct. 3.
Experimenter
The story behind Experimenter is more disturbing than scary, especially considering it is a true story. The independent movie stars Peter Sarsgaard as social psychologist Stanley Milgram, who conducted controversial Obedience Experiments at Yale University in the 1960s. Throughout the study he documented the responses of ordinary people who believed they were sending harmful electrical shocks to strangers.
Today, Sarsgaard will be filming scenes for Experimenter at Bedford Park Blvd W and Goulden Ave in Bronx, NY.
The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead is back at it today in Senoia, GA. The show will be filming on Rock House Rd from Crawford Rd to Old Ga 85 into the evening.
Can't make it to the set today but still want to check out all of the places the show has called home? You can take a Big Zombie Tour of Atlanta, Senoia and the surrounding areas with Atlanta Movie Tours each weekend for $65. Pick up your tickets at atlantamovietours.com.
Want to see where more movies and TV shows are filming around the U.S. today? Check out my Daily Filming Locations at OnLocationVacations.com!

HBO
Quickly enough, the varied rage-aholics comprising Vice President Selena Meyer's immediate staff have eased back into their insult- and obscenity-spouting M.O.s, churning out a whole bunch of hostility in the second episode of the stellar comedy's Season 3. This week, Selena faces the stresses of having to choose a new stance on abortion in light of her POTUS' quick shift toward the pro-life side. Naturally, the high-tension situation brings out a lot of colorful language in her crew. But who topped the lot with the harshest one-liners?
7. Secretary of the In-terror: JONAH
"Old Media like the Washington Toast better run and hide in the bathroom and join the Poo York Times."Oh Jonah...
"F**k HuffPo. They should be called 'PuffHo,' because Ariana Huffington is a straight-up ho and all they do is puff pieces."...you horrible idiot.
6. Abhor-ney General: SUE
"[Selena] is on the Coast Guard boat. Meeting and greeting fish."Self-explanatory. Somehow a much funnier line than it sounds like it would be.
"I don't need an enhanced roll to know my worth, Gary."After Gary explodes with giddiness over his being asked to handle a task over Sue.
5. Secretary of Offense: BEN
Responding to Selena's sarcastic quip about the existence of an "I don't give a s**t" lobby:"You're looking at him. I've got posters, buttons... not really. Because I don't give a s**t."
"I can't get POTUS to wave his transvaginal wand and make it go away." What do you even make of this?
"It would take a brain about this sizeMocking Gary's display of fruits representing the sizes of fetuses at different stages of gestation.
"I'm going home. If anybody needs me, I don't care."A classic, always.
HBO
4. Secretary of Treachery: MIKE
"Walt, Randal, this is Sasquatch. The edible garbage is out back."Introducing his new stepsons to Jonah.
"'Copy Cat Selena,' that's what they'll say. 'Me Too Meyer.' 'S**t for Brains.'"Predicting the public's antagonism for Selena's decision to mimic the abortion cut-off of another candidate.
3. Secretary of Hate: SELENA
"It begins here. In this Polish dungeon."Selena's grinning dismissal of her Maryland campaign office.
"I can’t identify myself as a woman. People can’t know that. Men hate that. And women who hate women hate that… which, I believe, is most women."Regrettable bonus points for putting down her gender as a whole.
"You let that unstable piece of human scaffolding into your house?"To Mike, about Jonah.
"I can't listen to that Joan Crawford b**ch about Bette Davis anymore."In the parameters of this insult, Ben is Joan Crawford and Kent is Bette Davis.
"I accept your apology while retaining the right to fire the f**k out of you. Should I print that up on a t-shirt that I can give to you?"Said to Dan, following his outburst over her inability to make a decision on the abortion issue. It's at once horrifying, condescending, and hilarious.
2. Vicious Vice-President: AMY
"You just gonna sit there, SpongeBob?"Mocking Dan for his seasickness. It's not so much the insult itself, but Amy's ability to make such a banal joke so pointedly mean that wins her points here.
"Tell Mike to climb off his wife and get on speakerphone now."I'm picking up on a very subtle undercurrent that everybody hates Mike's new wife. Or at least the idea of another human being entering their lives in a personal capacity.
"Jesus, what a talking gas giant. It's like listening to Jupiter."About Maddox.
"Moving on, and Dan may be quite soon..."Immediately following Selena's threats to oust Dan from his job. The callousness of her noting that Dan might actually get fired is what makes this such a gem.
"Go home. Take an ambien. Take 50."Said to Dan. Jeez, Amy really hates Dan.
"'Twenty-two-and-a-half Weeks' sounds like an erotic thriller."Putting down Gary's suggestion for an abortion cut-off. She could have just said 'no' ... but she's an artist.
1. The President of Put-Downs: DAN
"You don't announce your candidacy while the incumbent is still warm. That's like trying to bang the widow at the funeral."Putting down Gary's suggestion that Selena tell the world she's running for president. He could have just said 'no' ... but he's a wizard.
"That s**t-shoveled-faced-f**kin' Jonah."I don't even know what this means.
"I am going to rip your guts out of your tiny, shriveled little Chihuahua c**k."To Jonah.
"Hey, Ugly Betty, give me that burrito."To Jonah's friend.
"If you say anything about the Veep, I will break your legs so severely you will end up normal height."To Jonah.
But Dan's real genius comes in the nonverbal form this week, blowing up at Selena to the point of physical tremors and shoving aforementioned burrito into Jonah's face as a symbol of his menace. Both are sights to behold from the usually stoic-to-the-point-of-soulless Dan.
NICE THINGS GARY SAID
"Every angel needs an archangel!"In this scenario, he's the angel and Selena is the archangel. Gary... you weirdo.
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Actor Norm Lewis has been cast as Broadway's first African-American Phantom Of The Opera. The Tony Award nominee will make history when he dons the iconic white mask in May (14) and follows in the footsteps of Michael Crawford, who originated the role in 1986.
Lewis was last on the Great White Way as Porgy in the 2012 revival of Porgy and Bess, for which he earned his first Tony nomination. His other Broadway credits include Les Miserables, Miss Saigon and Chicago.
The Phantom of the Opera is currently the longest-running musical on Broadway. Since its debut in 1988, it has hit the stage over 10,800 times.

DreamWorks
For the bulk of every Rocky and Bullwinkle episode, moose and squirrel would engage in high concept escapades that satirized geopolitics, contemporary cinema, and the very fabrics of the human condition. With all of that to work with, there's no excuse for why the pair and their Soviet nemeses haven't gotten a decent movie adaptation. But the ingenious Mr. Peabody and his faithful boy Sherman are another story, intercut between Rocky and Bullwinkle segments to teach kids brief history lessons and toss in a nearly lethal dose of puns. Their stories and relationship were much simpler, which means that bringing their shtick to the big screen would entail a lot more invention — always risky when you're dealing with precious material.
For the most part, Mr. Peabody &amp; Sherman handles the regeneration of its heroes aptly, allowing for emotionally substance in their unique father-son relationship and all the difficulties inherent therein. The story is no subtle metaphor for the difficulties surrounding gay adoption, with society decreeing that a dog, no matter how hyper-intelligent, cannot be a suitable father. The central plot has Peabody hosting a party for a disapproving child services agent and the parents of a young girl with whom 7-year-old Sherman had a schoolyard spat, all in order to prove himself a suitable dad. Of course, the WABAC comes into play when the tots take it for a spin, forcing Peabody to rush to their rescue.
Getting down to personals, we also see the left brain-heavy Peabody struggle with being father Sherman deserves. The bulk of the emotional marks are hit as we learn just how much Peabody cares for Sherman, and just how hard it has been to accept that his only family is growing up and changing.
DreamWorks
But more successful than the new is the film's handling of the old — the material that Peabody and Sherman purists will adore. They travel back in time via the WABAC Machine to Ancient Egypt, the Renaissance, and the Trojan War, and 18th Century France, explaining the cultural backdrop and historical significance of the settings and characters they happen upon, all with that irreverent (but no longer racist) flare that the old cartoons enjoyed. And oh... the puns.
Mr. Peabody &amp; Sherman is a f**king treasure trove of some of the most amazingly bad puns in recent cinema. This effort alone will leave you in awe.
The film does unravel in its final act, bringing the science-fiction of time travel a little too close to the forefront and dropping the ball on a good deal of its emotional groundwork. What seemed to be substantial building blocks do not pay off in the way we might, as scholars of animated family cinema, have anticipated, leaving the movie with an unfinished feeling.
But all in all, it's a bright, compassionate, reasonably educational, and occasionally funny if not altogether worthy tribute to an old favorite. And since we don't have our own WABAC machine to return to a time of regularly scheduled Peabody and Sherman cartoons, this will do okay for now.
If nothing else, it's worth your time for the puns.
3/5
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Actors Michael Crawford and Penelope Keith received top honours at Windsor Castle in England on Friday (07Mar14). The Phantom of the Opera star was appointed a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in recognition of his charitable efforts, while The Good Life star Keith, 73, was made a dame by Queen Elizabeth II, who announced the awards in her annual New Years honours list.

AMC Networks
Recently it was announced that Jonathan Banks would be reprising the role of dead-eyed fixer Mike Ehrmantraut in Better Call Saul, the spin-off/prequel to Breaking Bad. This elicited much jubilation among fans, who have been suffering much withdrawal after Walter White went to the Great Meth Lab in the Sky and Jesse Pinkman accomplished the feat of driving straight off a TV show and into a movie.
What I like about this is that Ehrmantraut is a fascinating character. I, for one, am interested in learning more about his back story, about how he became a corrupt cop and maybe even seeing that whole sequence of events that led to his 'no half-measures' mantra. Banks knows how to hold our interest on camera. That's not to say that Bob Odenkirk, Lavell Crawford and Bill Burr aren't fun to watch.They are and had some of the most hilarious scenes from the show. We've only been exposed to those in small sequences though: are we ready for all Saul, Huell and Kuby all the time? The show will need Ehrmantraut -- and with his return, I am really hoping that Giancarlo Esposito comes back as Gus Fring -- to help glue it all together.
There has also been news that Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul would be open to cameos on this new show. That got me thinking, though: sure, I could see Pinkman crossing paths with Saul Goodman and his cohorts, since he knew that he was a crooked lawyer and all that. White had no idea who Saul was prior to his meth-selling partner introducing him. There are a couple of possibilities, though. White worked at a car wash before he learned he had cancer: Saul could walk through there sometime and have White in the background. Another possibility is they could see him during another Breaking Bad incident from Saul and not White's ultimate point of view. Of course, I know better than to try to second-guess Vince Gilligan.
The pieces are getting put together for another run with some very interesting characters. But if Banks hadn't signed on for this, I would hope that he would have held out for another spin-off: A Man Called Mike. I would have watched the heck out of that one and I know the majority of you fans out there would too. Besides, who wants our last memory of him being him dissolved in a vat of hydrofloric acid?
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Summit via Everett Collection
You can imagine that Renny Harlin, director and one quadrant of the writing team for The Legend of Hercules, began his pitch as such: We'll start with a war, because lots of these things start with wars. It feels like this was the principal maxim behind a good deal of the creative choices in this latest update of the Ancient Greek myth. There are always horse riding scenes. There are generally arena battles. There are CGI lions, when you can afford 'em. Oh, and you've got to have a romantic couple canoodling at the base of a waterfall. Weaving them all together cohesively would be a waste of time — just let the common threads take form in a remarkably shouldered Kellan Lutz and action sequences that transubstantiate abjectly to and fro slow-motion.
But pervading through Lutz's shirtless smirks and accent continuity that calls envy from Johnny Depp's Alice in Wonderland performance is the obtrusive lack of thought that went into this picture. A proverbial grab bag of "the basics" of the classic epic genre, The Legend of Hercules boasts familiarity over originality. So much so that the filmmakers didn't stop at Hercules mythology... they barely started with it, in fact. There's more Jesus Christ in the character than there is the Ancient Greek demigod, with no lack of Gladiator to keep things moreover relevant. But even more outrageous than the void of imagination in the construct of Hercules' world is its script — a piece so comically dim, thin, and idiotic that you will laugh. So we can't exactly say this is a totally joyless time at the movies.
Summit via Everett Collection
Surrounding Hercules, a character whose arc takes him from being a nice enough strong dude to a nice enough strong dude who kills people and finally owns up to his fate — "Okay, fine, yes, I guess I'm a god" — are a legion of characters whose makeup and motivations are instituted in their opening scenes and never change thereafter. His de facto stepdad, the teeth-baring King Amphitryon (Scott Adkins), despises the boy for being a living tribute to his supernatural cuckolding; his half-brother Iphicles (Liam Garrigan) is the archetypical scheming, neutered, jealous brother figure right down to the facial scar. The dialogue this family of mongoloids tosses around is stunningly brainless, ditto their character beats. Hercules can't understand how a mystical stranger knows his identity, even though he just moments ago exited a packed coliseum chanting his name. Iphicles defies villainy and menace when he threatens his betrothed Hebe (Gaia Weiss), long in love with Hercules, with the terrible fate of "accepting [him] and loving [their] children equally!" And the dad... jeez, that guy must really be proud of his teeth.
With no artistic feat successfully accomplished (or even braved, really) by this movie, we can at the very least call it inoffensive. There is nothing in The Legend of Hercules with which to take issue beyond its dismal intellect, and in a genre especially prone to regressive activity, this is a noteworthy triumph. But you might not have enough energy by the end to award The Legend of Hercules with this superlative. Either because you'll have laughed yourself into a coma at the film's idiocy, or because you'll have lost all strength trying to fend it off.
1/5
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Beloved British actresses Angela Lansbury and Penelope Keith have landed Dame titles in Queen Elizabeth II's annual New Year Honours List. The Good Life star Keith and Murder, She Wrote's Lansbury join fellow thespians Michael Crawford and Lynda Bellingham, singer Katherine Jenkins, veteran TV presenter Nicholas Parsons and sculptor Antony Gormley among the other celebrities on the newly-released list.
Of her damehood Keith, 73, says, "It's a recognition for not only my 54 years being an actress but also for all the charities with which I'm associated and I think they'll be thrilled."
And Lansbury tells the BBC, "I'm joining a marvellous group of women I greatly admire like Judi Dench and Maggie Smith. It's a lovely thing to be given that nod of approval by your own country and I really cherish it."
Cats and The Phantom of the Opera choreographer Gillian Lynne will also add Dame to her name in 2014, while Turner Prize winner Gormley and theatre producer Michael Codron have both picked up knighthoods.
Michael Crawford and Nicholas Parsons have both picked up Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) medals for their charitable work, and composer and conductor Sir Peter Maxwell Davies has been named a companion of honour.
Bellingham has ended a tough year, during which she battled cancer, with an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) - an honour also bestowed on opera star Jenkins, who was left "incredibly humbled" after learning her name was on the list.
She says, "To accept such an award after only a decade of service to music and charity, comes as a wonderful surprise. I share this award with the charitable bodies I am so privileged to work with."
Meanwhile, conductor Sir Simon Rattle becomes one of only 24 living people to land an Order of Merit medal.
Others named among the New Year Honours include actress and writer Ruth Jones and DJ Pete Tong (both Member of the Order of the British Empire).

Superstar Beyonce wanted to create her own "street version" of George Michael's classic Freedom! '90 video in her promo for new song Yonce. Michael famously featured supermodels Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista and Tatjana Patitz in the hit 1990 release, and Yonce music video director Ricky Saiz reveals Beyonce was heavily inspired by the film for her own track.
The Crazy In Love hitmaker wanted a "contemporary, street version" of Freedom for her promo and recruited models Jourdan Dunn, Chanel Iman and Joan Smalls to join her for the shoot on the streets of Brooklyn, New York.
Saiz tells Buzzfeed.com, "The girls were incredible. Everyone kind of checked whatever ego at the door and we were all there to make something fun and special... We wanted to do something very sexual, but... you know, she's Bey. She's not 21. She's not Miley (Cyrus)."
The audio and video for Yonce was released as part of Beyonce's new self-titled album exclusively on iTunes.com early last Friday (13Dec13) with no advanced announcement or promotion, and Saiz admits he had no idea the project was set to drop.
He says, "To be honest, I was actually in bed when I got an email just kind of saying (Beyonce) was live. I proceeded to stay up until five or six in the morning just kinda checking out all of the madness. It was a complete surprise even to the people involved. No one knew when (it would be released) or to what scale or that there was going to be everything coming out at once. It was very, very much a cool surprise."
Songwriter/producer Ryan Tedder, who worked with Beyonce on the track XO, found out about the surprise release at the last minute, shortly before it hit the Internet.
He says, "I knew 90 minutes before it dropped. Ninety minutes. And I said nothing because I love Beyonce and I don't want her to hate me.
"I heard a rumour and then I didn't say anything. I told my wife, 'I think Beyonce's album is dropping in 90 minutes,' and then I knew that XO was on the album."
Apple's iTunes bosses recently announced Beyonce had shattered download records by shifting 828,773 units worldwide in its first three days of release, and Tedder admits her success has prompted the singer and his OneRepublic bandmates to rethink their future album strategies.
He adds, "Me and my whole band, who are just complete sceptics and like, you know, a bit snobby, we just sat there going (wow)... Like, somehow we have to step our game up and be more like Beyonce."

Title

Appeared in the productions "Noye's Fiddle" and Benjamin Britton's "Let's Make an Opera"

Played title character in London musical, "Billy" based on play, "Billy Liar"

Film debut as star of "Blow Your Own Trumpet" for the Children's Film Foundation

Signed three-year contract to star in "EFX" at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas; production was recorded

Returned to London stage in sex farce, "No Sex Please, We're British"

Starred in "Soap Box Derby" made by the Children's Film Foundation

Broadway debut in the double-bill of Peter Shaffer comedies, "White Lies" and "Black Comedy" at the Barrymore Theater

First adult film role in "Two Living One Dead"

Returned to Broadway as the star of "Dance of the Vampires", a musical based on Roman Polanski's film "The Fearless Vampire Killers"; reportedly received a salary of $180,000 per week

First adult starring role in "Two Left Feet"

Made West End debut in "Come Blow Your Horn" at the Prince of Wales Theater

Performed on TV and in over 500 radio broadcasts as a child

Major role in feature, "The Knack . . . and How to Get It"

Left production of "EFX" after injuring hip (August)

Opened foam cushion business with his wife

Had greatest stage success originating the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera" in the West End; repeated performance on Broadway the following year

American TV acting debut, "The Adventures of Sir Francis Drake"

Began career as boy soprano

Had own British TV series, "Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em"

Song performer ("The Music of the Night"), guest star on TV special, "America's Tribute to Bob Hope"

Was a choirboy at St Paul's Cathedral

Played title character in the Cy Coleman musical, "Barnum" in the West End

Starred in London musical, "Flowers for Algernon", based on film "Charley"

Summary

An enormously gifted singer-actor, Michael Crawford became a child star of radio, stage and screen thanks to his soprano voice and innate acting talent. Maturing into a gifted adult performer, he charmed in such films as "The Knack and How to Get It" (1965), "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" (1966) and "Hello, Dolly!" (1969). Crawford became a sitcom star and household name as the accident-prone Frank Spencer on "Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em" (BBC1, 1973-78), but found even more success as a musical theater actor, winning an Olivier Award in "Barnum" and becoming a worldwide icon as the titular star of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera." An unprecedented global phenomenon, "Phantom" defined an era, earning Crawford another Olivier Award, a Tony and the status of Officer of the British Empire. Buoyed by all the adulation, Crawford launched a Grammy-nominated solo recording career, headlined the Las Vegas musical spectacular "EFX," and filmed his own Emmy-nominated special, "Michael Crawford in Concert" (PBS, 1998). A born performer who only became more likable and charismatic with age, Michael Crawford continued to build upon his status as a beloved international icon and as one of the most respected English entertainers of all time.